Portable bed



Nov. 16, 1965 M. H. CORLEY PORTABLE BED Fi'led Nov. 13, 1962 INVENTORMARK H. CORLEY 3,218,037 PGRTABLE BED Mark H. Corley, Park Ridge, Ill.Miller Wrapping & Sealing Machine Co., 18 S. Clinton St, Chicago, Ill.)Filed Nov. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 237,111 1 Claim. Cl. 256-25) Thisinvention relates to portable beds and more particularly to a stackable,collapsible portable bed for babies or small pets of all types which isadjustable and variable in size and provides a draft-free shelter forthe occupant.

It is desirable in a portable bed to provide a shelter which will easilyfit in a corner or other area, and completely eliminate drafts thusprotecting the occupant. Further, by having the portable bed readilycollapsible it may be folded for ease in storing, and be easily portablefor moving to different rooms of a home or transporting by automobile.The bed may also be made of nestable parts to be compact and handy whennot in use. In addition, the portable bed may also have expandable sidesso that the size of the bed may be changed easily and without adding newparts thereto. A portable bed having the construction to be described isadaptable to receive a blanket over the entire structure. Thus, when thebed is used as a pet bed, this enables the pet to make a nest inside thebed, as some pets are prone to do. Also, the pet bed calms the animal byassociating him with familiar sights and odors. The bed may also be usedas a baby crib or pen which is convenient to use in retaining the babyin a particular area and in keeping the baby from rolling off of acouch, chair or the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedportable bed of the type described above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedportable bed which is easily collapsible for storage and carrying.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved portable bed which includes expandable sides thereon so thatthe bed may be made smaller or larger depending upon the size of theoccupant, and further including means for maintaining the bed in thepredetermined size.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved portable bed which may be used for sheltering a baby away fromhome or as a substitute for a babys usual bed.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved portable bed which is economical to manufacture, simple to setup, yet etficient in use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved portable bed including sides which stack or nest together intoa small space for storage.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the portable bed;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a corner of the portable bed of FIG. 1being assembled;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of one side of the portable bed of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a plurality of the sides of FIG. 3 being placedin their nestable storage position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the portable bedwith the portions of the covering sleeve broken away to more clearlyshow the hinge means;

FIG. 6 is a detail drawing showing the side expansion means of thesecond embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of a hinge shown in FIG. 5 as atA with the front of the covering sleeve removed;

nited States Patent ice FIG. 8 is an enlarged elevational view of asecond hinge shown in FIG. 5 as at B with the front of the coveringsleeve removed; and

FIG. 9 is a view showing the embodiment of FIG. 5 in its collapsiblestacked storage position with the entire covering sleeve removed to moreclearly show details.

While illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawingand will be described in detail herein, the invention is susceptible ofembodiment in many forms and it should be understood that the presentdisclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principlesof the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to theembodiments illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed outin the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 illustrates one form of a portablebed 10 which is composed of a plurality of sides 12, fastened togetherat their end portions to form a geometric figure, the individual sidesbeing best shown in FIG. 3. Although the preferred embodiment is shownas having four such sides, it is obvious that any plurality of sidescould be used thereby forming a bed of the size required, as large or assmall as necessary.

All the sides 12 are substantially identical and it will only benecessary to describe one such side 12 in detail. The side includes aperipheral channel portion as at 14 and a fiat flange 16 at one end ofthe side. Positioned in the flange 16 are slots 18 and 20. Tabs 22 and24 are positioned at the opposed end of side 12, these tabs including adownwardly depending portion 23 and a latching stop 22 and 24respectively. Further included on side 12 are strengthening folds 26 asare well known in the art.

In operation, the tabs 22 and 24 are positioned respectively in slots 18and 20 of another similar side 12. The

slots 18 and 20 are just long enough to receive the tabs. The tabs arethen moved downwardly placing tab portions 23 of one side 12 intocontact with flange 16 of the adjoining side 12 and portions 22' and 24of the tabs are positioned at the bottom of the slots at 18 and 20respectively. This so positions the two sides 12 so that the top andbottom edges thereof of each side are adjacent one another and in thesame horizontal plane. This forms a sturdy corner which cannot beunfastened by the occupant during use of the portable bed 10, yet givesan easily detachable corner so that the portable bed may be disassembledfor carrying and storing. The bed itself is formed of a plurality ofthese sides 12 fastened together at their ends as described above toproduce an enclosed shelter as shown in FIG. 1. It is then possible toline the shelter with a blanket or similar material allowing the pet tomake a nest inside the bed as described hereinabove.

As best shown in FIG. 4 the sides 12 of the portable bed 10 are nestableby placing the peripheral channel portions 14 inside one another. Thisis possible as the walls 14 of the channel portions 14 are taperedthereby permitting the bottom of the channel portion 14 to easily fitinto the top of channel portion 14 of the various sides 12. When thesesides 12 are stacked together, a compact package is formed, the totalheight of the stack being less than the sum of the thicknesses of theindividual sides 12. This provides for easy storage when the bed is notin use, and also makes the bed easily portable from room to room, or forcarrying in an automobile.

A second embodiment of the portable bed 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 59 asat 10'. This form of bed comprises a one-piece foldable bed including aplurality of expandable sides or panels 30 which are made up of rods 32,33, 34 and 35 generally connected together by extension tubes 37 andhaving the end portions of the rods supan) ported for pivotal movementby hinges 35 and 38. Generally the portable bed includes three Smallerhinges 36 best shown in FIG. 7 and designated A in FIG. 5, and a largerhinge shown in FIG. 8 and designated B in FIG. 5. The rods 32, 33, 3 and35 are bent at a 90 angle at a distance approximately half the height ofthe hinges 36 and 38 from the ends 49 of the rods as shown in FIGS. 5and 6. Further, the rods include a projection 39 near the opposite endsand flared ends as at at), the purpose of which will be describedhereinafter. All the rods 32, 33, 34 and 35 are similar to one another.The body portions of the rod as at 32a are inserted into the extensiontube 37, the tube having approximately the same inside diameter as theoutside diameter of the rod 32. The expansion tubes 37 are swagedinwardly at the ends thereof as shown at 43 to prevent the rods fromseparating from the extension tubes 37 when the sides are placed intheir expanded position by engaging the projection 39. The projections39, near the ends of the rod, are set back a slight distance from theends and when the projections strike the swaged ends of tube 37, aportion of the rods including flared ends 40 will remain inside theexpansion tube 37. Also, the ends 46' of the rods are notched and slihtly expanded to cause frictional engagement between the tube 3'7 andthe ends of the rod 40. This construction gives a rigid yet easilyexpandable structure and one which will retain its adjusted position.

The three hinges 36 are similar to each other and consists of a hollow,slightly oval tube open at both ends. Hinge 33 is similar to hinge 36but as shown in FIG. 9 this hinge has a greater width to maintaingreater distance horizontally between bent end portions of the rod. Toassemble the portable bed, the ends 40 of rods 32 and 34are placed in ahinge 36, an extension tube 37 is placed over each of the ends 443' ofrods 32 and 34, the widened ends 40 of rods 33 and 35 are placed intothe opposite ends of extension tubes 37 and the ends 40 of rods 33 and35 are placed into another hinge 36. This forms a rectangular structurehaving an expandable length and width by reason of the sliding of theends 48' of rods 32, 33, 34 and 35 within extension tubes 37. The endsof extension tube 37 are then slightly closed as mentioned hereinaboveto prevent removal of the rods therefrom by reason of projection 39; Thesides of the portable bed are each constructed in similar manner andattached together as by hinges 36 and 33.

A sleeve 42 composed of plastic or other material is then placed aroundthe rod structure enclosing the vertical area between the rods, thussubstantially eliminating drafts from entering the bed. This form of bedll? may similarly be used with a blanket to give additional warmth andprovide an enclosure for the making of a nest as some animals are proneto do. The blanket further adds rigidity to the portable bed by helpingto hold the sides in place.

The bed 19' is foldable into a storage position as shown in FIG. 9, bymoving corner A into corner B and then folding the corners A, A towardone another. This will cause the four sides to rest adjacent one anotherby folding into a stack approximately the size of one side and "raving aheight equal to the Width of the wider hinge B.

I claim:

A readily assembled'and disassembled portable bed for a pet or the likecomprising: four similar generally rectangular panels, each of saidpanels being provided with a substantially windproof cover such asplastic or the like extending from end to end of the panel, means forswingably securing each such end to the end of an adjacent panel topermit assembly of the panels into an enclosure having four generallyvertically upstanding covered side walls, said securing means includinga plurality of tabs on one end of each panel and an equal plurality ofslots on the other end of each panel, the tabs and slots extendingoutwardly of each panel generally in the plane of the inner surfacethereof, the tabs of one panel being engageable with the slots of theadjacent panel, said securing means being readily disconnectible wherebysaid panels may be placed one upon the other to provide a disassembledstructure having a length and width substantially equal to the len thand width of one of said panels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 485,081 19/1892Baird 599.1 2,491,036 12/1949 Dodge 599.l 2,569,937 10/1951 Lindgren599.31 2,667,647 2/1954 Reggiani 5-95 2,697,843 12/1954 Sltrrnetti 599.22,924,830 2/1960 De Long 58 2,994,402 8/1961 Tyler 182-152 FOREIGNPATENTS 82,328 11/1956 Denmark.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

